Hearing the words of the Ghoul Girl, a faint suspicion began to grow in Rita’s heart.
She remembered that long ago, in one of Valfis’s online lectures, the topic of Ghouls had been brought up.
“Ghouls are pretty much the same as Zombies or Skeletons, and they all fall under the category of the Undead. But Ghouls still retain some self-awareness from when they were alive, although most of the time they’re still muddle-headed and act on instinct, so you don’t have to worry about them too much.
Undead creatures can be either troublesome or easy to deal with for us Nightmares. Ghouls fall into the former category, but that’s only when it comes to our magic. They’re actually quite weak physically, so even just relying on brute force, we can defeat them.
Rita knew this all too well—while holding down the Ghoul Girl was a bit tricky, it really wasn’t much effort.
What really concerned Rita were the girl’s words.
Wanting to protect her parents, from something’s grasp… Wasn’t she after revenge?
In any case, confronting the couple from earlier should settle things.
“Sheriff!” Rita pressed down harder on the Ghoul Girl and called out loudly.
A sheriff hurried down the stairs at once, stopping before Rita’s cell.
“Miss Rita, did you call for me?”
“Where are her parents being held right now? I need to confirm something. Take me… No, it’s better if you just bring them here for a bit.” If they saw their daughter like this, and she gave them a bit of a scare, maybe she could get some useful information. That way, Lady Cecilia would surely praise her.
But the sheriff’s answer was far beyond what Rita expected.
“They… haven’t arrived yet?”
“Haven’t they been gone for quite a while already?” Rita frowned slightly, feeling something wasn’t right.
“That’s what’s strange.” The sheriff nodded. “By rights, they should’ve returned already. Maybe something’s happened to them?”
Just as the two were talking, the Ghoul Girl beneath Rita suddenly began to struggle far more violently, so much that Rita, distracted, almost couldn’t hold her down.
“Danger… Danger! I need to… protect…”
“Miss Rita… that…?” Only now did the warden notice that Rita was pinning down something in the pitch-black cell, and he jumped in fright.
“It’s nothing.” Rita pressed down harder, but the Ghoul Girl struggled even more, howling and desperately clawing toward the cell door.
When a sharp crack sounded from the bones, Rita started to feel that things were getting troublesome.
It wasn’t that there was any real danger—though the sheriff was terrified, as long as Rita was here, this Ghoul Girl couldn’t threaten anyone.
But her obsession was simply too strong—she’d rather let her own body tear apart and her bones snap in her struggle, all to break free and rush to her home.
Without such an obsession, she probably couldn’t have run all the way back from outside the city.
And it was exactly this obsession that worried Rita.
“Urgh… ahh… home… I want to go home…”
“Alright, alright.” Rita patted the Ghoul Girl’s head, secretly grumbling about how her charm spells had almost no effect on things like this.
But there was something that might just work—and work quite well.
Rita spread her fingers. Golden motes of light fell from her fingertips like water droplets, but when they landed on the Ghoul Girl’s body, they left a black burn mark on her skin.
Just as she’d expected, the power of the crest was especially effective against curses and demonkind. With this, she could temporarily control the Ghoul Girl.
Rita swept her palm through the air, and a mist of golden Light Mist spread out, clinging to every corner of the cell.
“Mr. Sheriff, I need to leave for a bit.”
Rita spoke to the dumbfounded sheriff, stood up from the Ghoul Girl, and strode toward the door.
Without Rita holding her down, the Ghoul Girl immediately leapt up, but as soon as she touched the Light Mist that Rita had laid down, she recoiled in pain, gazing at Rita with a mixture of longing and fury.
Rita pointed at the Ghoul Girl. “As for this one, I’ll trouble you to keep an eye on her.”
“M-me?” The sheriff’s voice cracked. He’d never seen such a terrifying creature before, and feared she could easily twist his head off. Rita was really giving him a tough job.
But Rita’s status as a Crest Knight—at least, that’s what he believed—made her orders impossible to refuse.
“Don’t worry. She can’t get out.” Rita said, wiping her hand across the iron bars, and golden light immediately spread onto the metal. “If you’re still worried, get a couple of others to help. I’m counting on you.”
“Th-thank you, Miss Rita.” The sheriff’s voice was trembling.
“I’m going to check on those companions of yours who haven’t returned.”
“Big Brother! Big Brother, are you alright?!”
The young sheriff gripped his steel fork tightly, watching as his comrade—covered in blood—rolled to a stop in front of him.
Behind that strange black shadow, three fresh corpses already lay bleeding on the ground.
He didn’t want to see his big brother end up like this!
“Don’t—don’t worry about me! Run!” The older sheriff shoved his young colleague hard. “You—go… go get help.”
“Big Brother…”
“Go! Don’t you understand?!”
The older man punched the younger’s leg—he meant it to be hard, but it landed feather-light.
It seemed… he was at his limit.
“You can’t escape. No one who enters this house will ever leave.”
The black shadow twisted itself unnaturally. Though it was only speaking, its voice was sharp and wailing, like a mournful cry.
“Go! Don’t let my sacrifice be for nothing!”
“Okay!”
The young sheriff turned to run, but the black shadow followed close behind, opening its long, thin claws and reaching for his back.
The older sheriff clenched his teeth, and, finding some last bit of strength, suddenly crawled up and threw himself at the shadow.
“Courting death.” The shadow shrieked, splitting its mouth ear to ear, then turned its claws toward the older sheriff.
The big brother closed his eyes and just kept running, awaiting death’s arrival.
But the pain he’d imagined never came.
So this is what death feels like?
He was just thinking this when he suddenly felt a kick to his stomach.
“Don’t just stand there with that stupidly satisfied look—run for your life too!”
Standing before the shadow was a silver-haired girl, wielding an equally silver-white longsword, blocking the black shadow’s attack.
“You… you…” the big brother stammered.
“I am Lady Cecilia’s personal knight! I command you both: Run!” Rita turned her head, a hint of anger in her dark red eyes.
“Yes! Big Brother, let’s go!”
“You… why did you come back?”
“How could I possibly leave you here alone, Big Brother? Let’s go!”
The young sheriff hefted his big brother onto his shoulder, and the two limped toward the exit.
The black shadow laughed shrilly, extending its huge claw, trying to circle around the girl: “Hee hee, you’re not allowed to leave! I didn’t give permission for you to run!”
The big brother looked back in terror, but that ghostly speed that had hurt him so badly didn’t appear again—whenever the shadow tried to move, the silver-haired girl forced it back.
“So it’s just a Marrow Banshee Demon Ghoul—hee hee, what are you cackling for in front of me?”
Irritated, Rita pinched the withered fingers the Marrow Banshee was reaching for her, and with a crisp crack, snapped them.
It seemed the Ghoul Girl had been right—something else really was hiding here. Only, compared to the vengeful spirit Rita had expected, this answer was rather dull.
Creatures made from humans or humanoids were called Ghouls. If they retained self-awareness, they became Demon Ghouls, which were overall stronger than ordinary Ghouls.
“Humans… How dare you!” The Demon Ghoul widened its hollow eyes, baring its sharp fangs.
Rita hooked her hand directly into the Demon Ghoul’s mouth, lifting its head and slamming it to the ground.
“I don’t have time to play with you. Speak, what did you do?” Rita frowned, glancing at the three corpses of the family on the ground. She knew at once she’d arrived too late.
But being able to save those two sheriffs was still a blessing in the midst of misfortune.
“Why should I… Gaaah—help, help! Spare me—ahh—”
The Demon Ghoul had just started to protest when Rita’s sword pierced its shoulder, pinning it to the ground. Golden crests spread down the blade, burning the Demon Ghoul and making it wail in agony.
“Speak.” Rita’s tone softened just a bit as she twisted the sword hilt, carving an even larger wound into the Demon Ghoul’s shoulder.
“Gaaah—ahh—”
The Demon Ghoul shrieked, making Rita frown even deeper. She withdrew the power of her crest.
After a while, the Demon Ghoul finally lifted its hollow eyes. “Ahh, this aura… not pure, but it’s her… You… are you here for her?”
“Stop talking in riddles!” Rita stabbed down again, golden crest flowing as the Demon Ghoul shrieked in pain.
But this time, the Demon Ghoul didn’t beg. Instead, it struggled toward Rita, letting the enchanted sword tear its body apart.
“So much pain! It hurts! It hurts!” the Demon Ghoul howled, gripping Rita’s blade with its withered fingers and smashing its head down onto it. “But… rest assured! I won’t let you… have your way!”
With that, the twisted, agonized body went limp.
The Demon Ghoul’s head, still twisted in a wailing expression, rolled to a stop at Rita’s feet.